I’m a bit late in posting this as I saw Rat last week, but I wanted to post my thoughts on the film….. so better late than never. This is probably the tightest animated film I’ve ever seen. On all levels of production, it was polished. We often make these films on crazy rushed schedules, and I know the animators at Pixar had a tight schedule on this one, but the quality didn’t suffer. I really was amazed at the quality, from story to lighting, cinematography to animation, materials to design. All the way around. I walked out blown away. I now need to go back and enjoy the movie even more and not look with a critical eye at the film making. I’ve talked to quite a few of my animator friends and everyone has their opinion, some loved it, some liked it, no one hated it. I think the story appeals to someone with a preference for more dramatic story telling. In places, some felt a bit bored… I didn’t, but to each their own. I loved the willingness to let a shot breath and allow the heart of the story to simmer. Pixar, I feel, is especially good at this. Would there have been a few things that I would have done differently, of course. We all have opinions. But all in all, a super solid film technically and artistically. Go see it…. adult and child.

Just saw it! I have to say it’s one of the best animated films I’ve seen in a long time. Not one element of the production distracted me. It had solid animation, great acting and writing, beautiful camera work, and the water and other environments were amazing. There were many times when I forgot I was watching an animated film. A dozen or more animators from Blue Sky saw it over lunch and we all walked out floored. Great job to all who worked on this beauty.

Alright, I am very excited for this film. If you haven’t seen the 9 minute preview yet you should check it out. I’ll try and post the link here later. If the preview is any indication it looks to be filled with great animation, appealing characters, dramatic lighting, and all around great film making. Congrats goes out to my friends and former Blue Sky Peeps, Everett Downing and Amber Martorelli, who animated on the flick. Click on the image of Colette below to see a few new characters.